During the recent Annual General Meeting of the Parksville and District Historical Society, a veritable tsunami of hastily garnered “new members” crashed into the museum and flooded the meeting room.
Perched on the crest of the wave was the only self-confessed, multi-term, former paid employee of an otherwise all-volunteer society and executive council.
Seemingly gathered through various social events and neighbourhood canvasses, these new wave joiners spoke loudly, and quite frankly, as one of them blurted that they had been told to come here and vote a certain way.
That statement, in my opinion, was the telling hallmark of a dictatorship in the offing.
Apparently a coup had been welling up for some time, as highlighted by the admission the PQ News had been surreptitiously given a list of participants in the overthrow, well previous to the AGM being held.
Further to the autocratic nature of this new wave bunch the statement that Colleen Parsley was listed as the new “museum manager” was a premature action of the worst kind.
Are they so hopped-up on euphoria that they do not comprehend the fact that their own society bylaws require that only the executive council, not a thrown-together wrecking crew, can make decisions on the business operation, and presumably hiring of employees of the society?
As a member of the society, I am greatly concerned about the future democratic operation of the society and further trampling of member privileges.
As the tsunami subsided that day the wreckage was clear, a good number of dedicated, unpaid, unsung volunteers fulfilling the various executive duties of the society had been cast aside.
And the paid employee of the society had successfully orchestrated a coup all the while feeding at the society trough.
Rory E. Glennie
Parksville
